If I Only Could Learn To Spell It

I was doing All About Spelling Level 3 Step 11 today with my kids.  I came across a word that really stumped me.  When you read the word, you’ll probably laugh out loud.  But this word really had me perplexed.  The word is “only”.

Now how on earth could anyone be stumped by that word, you may ask.  Well, I’ll tell you. =)

But first, let’s review some of the rules of spelling.  Syllable Division Rule #2 tells us that you locate the two vowels.  If there are two consonants between them, you usually divide between the consonants.

So in the word “only” it would be divided

on / ly

Now another rule is, that when a syllable ends in a consonant, the vowel is usually short.  That says [on-lee].   We all know that this is a two syllable word.  And we do not pronounce it [on-lee], but rather [own-lee].

We also know that it cannot be divided as:

o / nly

Because nly cannot be pronounced in one syllable.  It naturally goes to two syllables when saying it.  That would make “only” a three syllable word, which we all know it’s not.  [o / n / ly]  Not only because we know it, but because every syllable has to have at least one vowel. 

The book considered this word a v-c-c-v word and not a v-c-suffix. (I could tell by the example phonogram letters they had in the book).  So that blows out any theory of the suffix being the cause.  For example: the word only is actually one + the syllable ly, but we drop the silent e.

The book also claims that this is a word that obeys the rules.  It was being taught at the same time as the two rule breakers, “one” and “once” were being taught.   Now this is where I have a problem with that.  The letter o may say one of its phonetic sounds in the word “only”, but the word as a whole does not obey the rule: The vowel is usually short in a closed syllable.  I know this rule has the word “usually” in there, but this word was being taught as a rule abider.  So I questioned my ability to understand how this word was obeying the rules.

To further drive my point home, I put the letters up on the board.

My son read it as [on-lee].  I corrected him, but I had no explanation as to why he pronounce it the wrong way due to the fact that the book was referring to it as obeying the rules.

Later in the lesson I asked him to spell the word on the board.  He used the magnet letters and spelled

 This didn’t surprise me, because we had just learned that most of the time we use ow to say the long o sound at the end of words.  We had also learned one of the exceptions: own in which we use ow at the beginning.  So carrying that same thought from the lesson before, and then having a word that has the first syllable saying /own/, it makes sense that he spelled it that way.

My son is a rule loving speller, so I had to get to the bottom of this.  I ended up emailing AAS and asking them my question, in hopes for a rule that I could tell my son for our ‘quandary little problem’. (Shout out to “Better Off Dead” there)

Luckily their reply was exactly what I ended up telling my son.

1.  The word "only" goes against the norm for rules of a closed syllable.

2.  It is not considered a rule breaker because the o actually says one of its phonetic sounds.

3.  But, treat it as if it were a rule breaker just for 'breaking the peace' if the student is having a hard time with it breaking the syllable rule.

So Alas! Another word goes to jail.

So I think it's good to note that as long as a phonogram is obeying its sound, it's not considered a rule breaker in this program.  But if it breaks another rule, feel free to throw it in jail! 

[Another word from Level 2 that is not considered a rule breaker because the letters follow their phonetic sounds, yet disobeys another rule is the word: you.  Ou says the correct sound, but it disobeys the important rule "English words don't end in u".  We caught this non rule breaking- rule breaker and threw it in jail!]